On that day, Clardy and more than 260 other AFCO employees learned that, although orders for the fuel pumps remained brisk, the joint venture between Denso and Bosch was soon to end — which meant the plant would close in 15 months.

David Clardy, who recently changed jobs and works as an engineer at the Michelin Starr Earthmover Facility in Anderson County, also leads his neighborhood Christmas lights display on North Avenue.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

"It wasn't like we knew the product was not selling, and something had to change," Clardy said. "It took us all by surprise. It seemed odd. And since it was on June 6, we called it 'D-Day.'"

It was a 15-month notice, and the company offered incentives to those who would stay until the end to help provide AFCO's customers with a stockpile of fuel filters. But it didn't relieve the deflated, uncertain feeling that followed Clardy through the rest of 2017 and into that Christmas season.

For Clardy, who is now 43, the close of the AFCO plant signaled the end of a career with a company that had enabled him to grow into the job of engineer. He had two-year degrees from Tri-County Tech, but had gained much of his knowledge on the job, leaving him with rich experience but no credentials.

"I knew engineering, but I don't have a four-year degree," Clardy said. "If I could get another job, I figured I'd have to restart in maintenance with another company, take a pay decrease and hope that in 15 or 20 years I'd get another engineering opportunity."

With the help of some prayers and exceptional job-search assistance from SCWorks and Human Technologies (HTI), Clardy's fears turned out to be unfounded. Clardy ended his AFCO career on Aug. 10, a Friday, and began a new career at Michelin's Earthmover tire plant near Starr on Monday, Aug. 13.

And he started as an engineer.

David Clardy thought he might have to start off in a lower position with a new company before he could work his way back into an engineering job, but started right off as an engineer at Michelin's Earthmover plant in Starr.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

It all makes him more thankful than usual this Christmas season. As Clardy plugged in his Christmas light show on North Avenue, the father of two teenagers said he's regained confidence as well as a job.

"When you're job hunting, it's easy to get yourself into a negative mentality," said Clardy, who typically is a positive person. "You have to concentrate on the future and not the current circumstance. That isn't always easy."

The job search involved career coaching from HTI, a firm hired by AFCO to help employees find new jobs.

David Clardy puts his engineering skills to use every Christmas when he sets up his Christmas lights display on North Avenue. The former AFCO employee now works at Michelin's Earthmover tire plant.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

Now in his fifth month at Michelin, Clardy's upbeat attitude is in high gear.

"It was like hitting the lottery. I'm able to do positive things that I thought would be 15 years down the road," Clardy said of his new job.

HTI career counselor Julie Blackmon said staying positive, which is never easy when job hunting, helped Clardy and many others at AFCO.

"Any time you lose your job, it puts a big hit on your confidence. I see it more in the guys," Blackmon said. "The transition leaves people at a down point in their lives.

"It was a problem at AFCO because it was a tenured workforce. Most of those people had been there over 15 years," Blackmon said.

She was nonetheless confident about Clardy, a lifelong Anderson County resident whose wife, Carla, is a special education teacher at McCants Middle and Neville Forest Elementary schools.

"When he got to the interview stage, I knew that he would knock the questions out of the park," said Blackmon, who recruits for technical positions. "He had the knowledge and the positive attitude."

Of the 262 full-time employees who lost jobs at AFCO, Blackmon said 90.5 percent had been transitioned — placed in a job where the employee wanted to be — as of last week. The goal had been 80 percent.

Worklink Executive Director Trent Acker said AFCO "certainly went the extra mile" in helping displaced workers find new jobs. "Each situation is different, but we find that most employers want to offer as much assistance as they can to the folks that are impacted by a layoff or closure."

Clardy's engineering skills can be seen nightly on North Avenue, where a synchronized music/light show celebrates the Christmas season and generates revenue for the Family Promise ministry.

Like the job search, it has been surprisingly successful.

When the light show began in 2012, David's brother, Timothy, donated $65 to the project in hopes it would help increase donations for Family Promise of Anderson County, a faith-based local ministry devoted to providing meals and other help for homeless families.

"We were worried that he might have helped the ministry more by donating the $65 directly to Family Promise," said Clardy, a member of Hopewell Baptist Church. "But the donations were over $2,000 that year and each year since has been around $2,000."